Adam Braus: everyone, my name's Adam Braus. Scot Maupin: I'm Scot Maupin. Adam Braus: And this is Solutions from the Multiverse, where we bring you a unheard of solution to the world's problems every single episode. Scot Maupin: That's right. And we have a new one for you today, brought to you by Adam. Adam, what do you got for us? Adam Braus: Here's what we got. Basically, the biggest problems we face, I think, in society can be solved if we recover, if we restore an understanding in one key thing, which is begs the question. Scot Maupin: What's that? Adam Braus: We n we need begs the question back. We've lost it. It's gone. People don't understand what begs the question is. And Scot Maupin: Yeah, I didn't even know that that you had told me what I thought you were continuing bef your preamble. What's beg's a qu what do you mean by beg sequ? Adam Braus: No, begs the question. Begs the question is a thing. And everyone does everyone's forgotten what that means. And that's why many of the problems we have exist. And so we've got to bring back begs the question. People need to understand what it is, and that will solve a million things. Okay. So this Scot Maupin: Okay. Adam Braus: as we talk more, this will become clearer. But this is the solution. Today's. Yeah, the solution Scot Maupin: Unspool yeah, I was gonna say unspool this for me. Let me let me know more. Adam Braus: today is begs the question restored to its proper greatness. Scot Maupin: All right. W what what is it? Where did it fall off and what could it be again, I guess. So we gotta go through Adam Braus: Okay. Scot Maupin: the past, present, future. Adam Braus: Past, present, future. Okay, so begs the question, or what also what is called the petito principi, which is the Latin word for it, begs the question is a logical fallacy. Scot Maupin: can we pause just for a Adam Braus: Okay. Which means it's a way to be wrong about things. That's what it means. It's a way that people are wrong, but they don't realize that they're wrong, but they're wrong. That's they can have begs the question. The Latin term. Yeah. Scot Maupin: Give me an example, like 'cause a logical fallacy, I'm thinking like straw man argument or I don't even know. how give me an example of this? use it so that I have something to grab onto. Adam Braus: Sure. So l logical fallacies are like ways that people are wrong, but they feel like they're right. So for example, ad hominem. So when you attack someone's who they are instead of their idea. So if someone says like, I, you know, let's not have pizza tonight, and then you're like, You're you know, you're an arsonist. Who cares what you say? Right? Like they like they just they just attack the person instead of attacking the idea. Scot Maupin: Right. Adam Braus: Instead of saying like, Scot Maupin: Okay. Adam Braus: well, let's not have pizza because it's not healthy or something, they're like, You're a bad person. So that it's that's ad hominem, right? Scot Maupin: So it's a logical fall fallacy because it breaks the logic of the argument. Is that is that how we get to logical? Adam Braus: It's just it it's just you're just it's not an act, it's not a it's just not a logical argument, but it feels like a logical argument. It feels like Scot Maupin: Okay. Adam Braus: you're being reasonable, but you're not. You're being irrational. Another is a straw man. Okay. That's where you exaggerate or distort your opponent's argument to make it easy to destroy. So like somebody says, We should have more money for public schools, and the other person says, So you want to completely defund the police and leave our children unprotected? Right. So like they weren't arguing for anything about the police. They were saying we should Scot Maupin: Gotcha. Change it and then you can attack what it's not. Adam Braus: Yeah. So that's straw man. And there's a there's a bunch of these. There's another one which is a slippery slope, right? Someone says, Hey, we Scot Maupin: If we do that a little bit, it'll go to the maximum okay. So then begs the question. Adam Braus: Right. So we should get we should we yeah, we should allow gay marriage. what do you want? Bestiality? You know, like they they're Scot Maupin: Right. Yeah. Adam Braus: like slippery slope. So these are all logical fallacies. And begs the question, I think, is one of the most dangerous and it's the one that's the one of the least understood. And it I think it's very common. And what what begs the question is is circular reasoning. Okay. And that's when you're c you use your conclusion as proof. For your belief. So it's circular. Okay. Scot Maupin: So what's an example of this one, like the like the others? Adam Braus: So these sound sort of stupid because they are. This is one of the things that begs the question is it it's just really it's about stupid beliefs, stupid opinions. So so here's an example. Stealing is wrong because it's illegal, and it's illegal because it's wrong. Yeah, circular, right? Or here's another one. Scot Maupin: Right. Gotcha. Adam Braus: The Bible is true because it's the word of God, and we know it's the word of God because the Bible says so. Scot Maupin: Mm, self justification. I as a fa as Adam Braus: Begs the question. Circular reasoning. Scot Maupin: a new father and as a for for me an old father, you'll see this coming up where a child will be like, why don't you try this new food? Well, I don't like it. But you haven't tried it. I don't try it because I don't like it. It becomes that circular thing. Adam Braus: Right, right, exactly. Scot Maupin: I'm not gonna try it 'cause I don't like it. I don't like it because I haven't tried it. Therefore it's not gettin' in. Adam Braus: So that's begs the question. Okay, here's some more examples. Everyone deserves free speech because it's a basic human right. That just means Scot Maupin: Yeah. Adam Braus: it's the same thing, you know. Everyone deserves Scot Maupin: Yeah. Adam Braus: this. That just is another way of saying it's a basic human right. There's n there's no argument there. It's just Scot Maupin: Right. Adam Braus: circular reasoning, I'll give you another I'll give you I'll I'll I'll give you I'll Scot Maupin: So we need to bring this back, you're saying, basic Adam Braus: give you another one. He's untrustworthy because he's a liar. Scot Maupin: Gotcha. So it Adam Braus: that's just what liar means. Liar just means someone who's untrustworthy, right? That's not actually reasoning. That's not an argument. Scot Maupin: It's like it's like defining the word with the word itself in it, where you're like, No, you can't Adam Braus: Right. Scot Maupin: do that. Adam Braus: Right. I'll give you I'll give you a couple more because I think it's it's interesting to start to think about all it has like flavors. There's like varieties of this, right? One Scot Maupin: Okay. Adam Braus: is here's another one. God exists because the universe had to be created by something, and that something is God. You start to see that actually, this Scot Maupin: Airtight? Adam Braus: is people you hear people say things like this a lot. it's a common behavior, right? Is to sort of make an art, you know, believe something, and then when you're at you're pressed on it, you Scot Maupin: Okay. Adam Braus: just kind of restate that you believe the thing in different words, and then you that's your argument. It's not, it's not. That's that's b all Scot Maupin: This happens in politics all the time. Adam Braus: the time. Here's another one. This is the law. this this law is just because it's the law. Right. This is what people kinda believe like, well, we voted on it, it's the law, so it's just right, which is just which just Scot Maupin: This is like in Mystery Men, when he's like, If you can balance attack hammer on your head, then you can hit a balanced attack or you know, like it's just gibberish gibberish words back at you. Adam Braus: Another one is reading fiction is a waste of time because it's not useful. Waste of time just means not useful. Those are just that's just circular reasoning. You're not saying reading fiction Scot Maupin: Yeah, it's just Adam Braus: is useless because it wastes, because you could use that time for learning something else or something, right? Then that would be an actual argument. But if you just say it's a waste of time because it's not useful, that's just a circular argument. That begs the question. So you could say that argument begs the question. And then you stop. Okay. So here's the problem. Scot Maupin: okay. Adam Braus: People misuse this phrase. Constantly. I actually don't think in the last maybe 20 years I've ever heard someone use the phrase correctly. Because everyone thinks begs the question means suggests a question or presupposes a question or demands that we next ask some question. That's what people think begs the question means. We've lost begs the question because we misunderstand what it means. We think it means suggests a question of some kind. Scot Maupin: Yeah. Adam Braus: Yeah. Like the next thing we should talk about is this, because the thing we talked about before suggests that the next thing we talk about is this. Or, you know, invites, invites the question. It really means like that invites the question. Huh, you know, like Scot Maupin: So would would you say begs the question if I'm if I put forth a circular argument, you would say that begs the qu like if I go, this is right because I feel it's right and I feel like it's right because it is right. I mean, that's that's how I base my feelings Adam Braus: Exactly. Right. Scot Maupin: on, you know, like wha how would you then say begs the question to me? Like Adam Braus: So the the way you're supposed to say it is you just say, but that but Scot, that begs the question. Done. Because all you're saying is what you just said is circular reasoning. That's what that phrase means. It means what you just said is circular. Scot Maupin: And in my I'm supposed to respond to like, man, you got me. I'm roasted. Like that Adam Braus: Yeah, you have to say, no, it's not circular reasoning because what I really mean is right. You'd have to kind of clarify or sort of explain why you didn't just do a big sort of circular thing. But that's no one says that because we've lost Scot Maupin: No. Adam Braus: begs the question. And I think because we've lost begs the question, all the stupid things that are in the world. I believe that most of the stupid things in the world that are just jaw-droppingly stupid. Like when you see them, you're like, what? That it's because they're begging the question in almost every case, right? So you say to people like the earth is flat, like people say like the earth is flat, like flat earthers, right? If you look at their people say that people are flat earthers, right? So stupid. Scot Maupin: We don't say that here. That's not our that's not our st standpoint. Yeah. Adam Braus: But when you ask them their arguments, their arguments come down to just look at the world. It's clearly flat, which is circular, right? Like it's flat because it's flat. that's their argument. That's what it boils down to. That's what it all Scot Maupin: Mm-hmm. Adam Braus: boils down to. And so we've lost the ability to just say that begs the question. And then everyone can just disbelieve those people and just disbelieve that belief. Scot Maupin: I think the f I think the flat earthers would say that it was more of a flat argument. I don't think they're gonna acknowledge that it's a circular argument, even a little bit. Like you they're Adam Braus: No, it's not circular to them. Scot Maupin: they're n they're gonna disagree with that point. But everyone else, yes, they will agree that's a circular argument. Adam Braus: Right. Or or I'll give you some more really stupid beliefs that are just believed and they get repeated over and over again. And they're they're they're considered to be like acceptable beliefs, but they are they clearly beg the question. Okay. People say Scot Maupin: Okay. Adam Braus: America is the greatest country in the world. And then anytime Scot Maupin: Oof. I d yes. Adam Braus: you tr you dig into that, why what is a why is it the greatest country? It always just ends up that it is the greatest country because it's the greatest country. That's what it is. it's the greatest country because it's the freest country. And by freest they mean greatest. Because they don't actually mean that it is actually freer. Scot Maupin: one that every you hear is people people are jealous of the of America. Why? Because it's the greatest country in the world. Well, why is it the greatest country in the world? Well obviously it is because look, everyone's so jealous of it. And you're just like you're like what? Adam Braus: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. It always all these stupid, stupid, stupid things, which are often on the right, but sometimes on the left, there are stupid things on the left too. And most of but most of them, I think, come down to begs the question. And if we understood the logical fallacy and people knew how to say it, and they knew how to just say that begs the question, and then everyone listening would be like, begs the question. Illogical, irrational, BS, Scot Maupin: Mike Mike drop. Adam Braus: right? Mic drop, right. It's kind of like today if you call something a scam or a grift, a whole bunch of people understand what that is and immediately are like discounting what the thing is because you said it's a grift and they say, yeah, it is a grift, and then they discount it. That's good. I mean that's good. We should be identifying grifts and scams. We should also be identifying begs the question. We should be identifying examples of begs the question, and we should be writing off those beliefs and understandings. I have the right. Scot Maupin: Well, we have to help me too, because like I when I hear the phrase 'begs the question,' I wanna follow it up. Like if I'm gonna say, Well that 'begs the question,' my brain wants to then put another phrase right after that so that I can like I I'm trying to it enjoinder whatever my next thing is, instead of just trying to make the this begs the question point, 'cause that's definitely not how I've used it before either. So I gotta I gotta get onto this yeah. Adam Braus: Yeah. Yeah. And it's not it's not it's not for anybody who says that this begs the question and they mean it the wrong way. They mean this invites the question. And that's the better way to say it. If someone says something and you're like, after you say that, you must ask this question. Just say, well, that invites the question. That invites this question. And you say whatever question. But we have to Scot Maupin: Yeah. Adam Braus: really reserve begs the question for what it is, which is circular reasoning. Scot Maupin: On Twitter the common joke form is implies the existence of. So it'll be like John Goodman implies the existence of a John Badman or something you know, like something like that. But you Adam Braus: That's awesome. Scot Maupin: could use that one. That's that gets away from the begs of questions. Adam Braus: Sure, invites the existence of or suggests further, you know, like to that I would ask, right? You could say, to that I would ask. Another word, but a couple ways to say that. But the we have to reserve and restore begs the question. It's the solution, I think, to the whole, like, like this whole idea like of that we're in parallel universes and some people have alternative facts. And I've found, I believe, that alternative facts, all the alternative facts, you know. Well, we can keep going through them, but and I'm gonna keep arguing that this is the case, but all the alternative facts always come back to begs the question. For example, vaccines. Vaccines are bad, right? And then it's like, okay, why are vaccines bad? Why do you think vaccines are bad? They can't actually pull any data because all the data suggests that they're wildly good for public health, right? So they have to just come back to they're bad. dot dot dot because they have aluminum in them or something where they make up they say something and maybe it's true, but then that implies because having aluminum in them is bad and it's not. so it always comes back to like a begs the question world. Whereas if you're say a something, if you say a fact that isn't like an alternative fact, like it's an actual fact, then you will not have a circular approach. You can re base it on actual data, right? You could say, like, Scot Maupin: Mm-hmm. Adam Braus: smoking is bad for your health. Why? Because it gives you just huge implications for lung cancer and cardiovascular health and stroke and all kinds of things. And it's like, okay, there's no circular reasoning there, right? There's no so so alternative facts, I think, always beg the question. They always end up in a circular setup. And the non-alternative facts, the real facts, don't. And because we've lost begs the question, because people keep saying begs the question when they mean invites the question and they weren't taught what begs the question actually means, we keep getting duped by these alternative facts. And we don't have a way to like like blast out of the sky, you know? Scot Maupin: You know what I'm noticing here as a pattern is that you're encouraging people to move away from, you know, th feelings and vibes and having that be the and moving towards something that I know you're into, which is evidence based things, where you're like, you I would like some evidence-based arguments here. I would like something that's not just like I I don't like it because I don't like it, you know, like Give me reasons. Gi make sure that your feelings and vibes are based in reasons, evident, like real solid things, and not just like, I don't know, I don't like the vibe of it. I can't define why. So I'm just gonna like push back on the whole thing instead of examine why do I feel that way or why am I uncomfortable with this. Adam Braus: Yeah, I mean, I'm not against feelings. If someone says, if someone says, I I don't like vaccines because it just icks me out, it grosses me out, that's not circular. That's that's just an emotive expression of your own subjective, you know. But that's not what people are doing. Anti-vaxxers claim some kind of objectiveness, you know, they claim flat earthers are claiming that the earth is a certain shape, right? They're not just saying like, Boy, all that like astronomy stuff, that just weirds me out. It kinda turns my stomach to think that we're on a a w a globe spinning around. I'd rather just think of the world as sort of flat and me being on it like, you know, like a magnet on a that's yeah. Scot Maupin: That's true. Yeah. They think that they've found re they found their own evidence. They're like, No, no, no, this proves it and it's this thing that does not probably in fact do what they say it does. Adam Braus: Yeah. It it would be a huge improvement to our society if people could just say, I that weirds me out. That doesn't make me feel good. my god. That would be such a such an incredible you know. That'd be amazing. Scot Maupin: That is a level of yeah, openness that we don't we have not achieved. Adam Braus: Like I feel like the group therapist of the country would just be like, breakthrough! You know, like we have a breakthrough. The the crazy people are just Actually sharing how they actually feel. Like, you know, it kinda makes me feel uncomfortable to have a black president. You know, like they could just, you know, just be honest, you know. Or like it kind of freaks Scot Maupin: They were deal yeah. Adam Braus: me out that white people are gonna be a minority in the next year or two. Like that kind of freaks me out. Instead they don't say that. They say, Make America great again. Donald Trump is best president ever been to live. You know, it's like, my God, you know. Scot Maupin: Protect, yeah. man. Adam Braus: so a little bit I don't mind feelings. I think feelings are fine. But the problem is this circuit these circular arguments. I'll I'll give you some more of them. Okay, crypto. Crypto, Bitcoin, right? Bitcoin is gonna revolutionize Scot Maupin: not crypto superman's dog. Adam Braus: currency. Why? Cause it's the most revolutionary currency that's been ever invented, right? Like it's just it's just totally totally insane. Or Scot Maupin: And I would say, Adam, that begs the question. Adam Braus: And I would be destroyed. I would just be completely done. That's it. That Scot Maupin: You would you Adam Braus: begs the question. Scot Maupin: would start one tear would roll down your eye and you'd be like, How could how could you do that to me in my at my height of heights? Adam Braus: Demolished. I lost my camera. So this camera Scot Maupin: I just saw that. It changed Adam Braus: I I switched to this thing that's supposed to do thing and now it Scot Maupin: The high the high frau. We're seeing you in Adam Braus: Yeah, the ten eighty P but now it dies. Scot Maupin: un Adam Braus: it dies. did that make it come back or? Scot Maupin: I'm not seeing your picture currently, but I'm not seeing the note that popped up that said, Hey, this thing is super hot. Adam Braus: this happened yesterday and is the first time it ever happened. So I thought it just was a fluke yesterday, but now it seems to be like a recurring Scot Maupin: Wait, it happened yesterday? Who are you recording other podcasts with? Are you two timing me? You podcasting d Lithario? Adam Braus: I I use this that's right. I use this cam I use this camera for everything now. Scot Maupin: Just as long as I don't find some other Adam Braus: I think it's working again. No. Scot Maupin: podcast where you're giving solutions with some other knucklehead instead of in Adam Braus: there it goes. Yeah, right. Scot Maupin: my place. Adam Braus: What were we talking about? crypto. but that and then you said Scot Maupin: You're Yep. I said Superman's dog. Adam Braus: Who's Superman's dog? He's a good boy. Scot Maupin: Crypto. He's named crypto. Adam Braus: crypto, yeah. But yeah, crypto that's just circular reasoning. any bubble, any economic bubble, right? Like, you know, safe as houses. You gotta, you know, invest in houses before the housing crisis. houses are the safest thing you can possibly buy. Buy a house, but let's let's just totally buy houses. Why? Because they're safe. Why are they safe? Because they've never been been unsafe. It's like, no, that's not that's not how it works. Or AI right now we have this huge AI bubble and people are like, Scot Maupin: Right. Right. Adam Braus: AI, we gotta do this. Why? 'Cause it's inevitable, it's the future. Why is it the future? 'Cause it's the most futuristic thing we've ever invested invented. It's like, what? That's you know, it's it's begs the question. Scot Maupin: Okay, here here's a very relevant one from just this week, 'cause like a couple of days ago, this guy resigned from Anthropic and was like, behind the scenes, AI has like a ten percent chance of killing humanity and everyone knows it and we are not sure how to deal with this. Adam Braus: I I'm a I'm a hundred I'm a hundred percent certain that that whole media thing was a psyop, that that was all designed. I I'm a hundred percent certain Scot Maupin: How can you be a hundred percent? Adam Braus: that he was saying he went to his boss and said, I'm leaving the company because like I'm busy with other things, like I don't want to work here anymore. Like I'm done. I I made millions. He's probably a he probably has at least 20, 30 million dollars if he worked at Anthropic like six years. He probably has like 30, 50 million dollars, maybe more. He he probably just said, I want to leave, I want to retire. And they said, We have an offer for you. If you go and tell people that you're worried that that AI will kill everyone, we'll give you even more money. And you know, that because I'm a hundred percent certain that that's what that was. No, I'm a hundred, Scot Maupin: Do you know any of this is happened or are you just you're imagining that this is how it okay. Adam Braus: I'm a hundred percent certain because, well, for a few reasons. Scot Maupin: I would give myself maybe a little bit of a little wiggle room there out of a hundred percent 'cause that's that's a lot of Adam Braus: No, I don't think it's I don't think it's I I'm so convinced. Okay, 99% certain. I'm 99% certain. Because for a long time AI was like constantly ramping and part of the ramp, like part of the sort of hype ramp cycle was this kind of apocalyptic marketing. Like, it's gonna kill everyone. That got a bunch of earned media, right? He was on CNN, like they did a whole segment. It swept through the internet and took over the whole internet for two days. Everyone's talking about AI again. I think in the last few weeks, people have sort of stopped talking about AI as much. I see a major dip from what it was a month ago or two months ago. And Anthropic Scot Maupin: Okay. Adam Braus: does not like that because Anthropic wants the IPO and it wants the IPO at like one point four trillion dollar valuation. So it needs to have the hype that it had like two months ago. And they noticed that part of that hype was always this kind of apocalyptic fear. And so they needed to like juice up that fear again. So they took some guy who's a stockholder and anthropic. He has a huge benefit to him if that can keep that cycle going. And they said, Hey, you're worried that it's gonna kill everyone, right? And he was like, Yeah, like I don't think he's lying. But he was like, Yeah, yeah, well, it's gonna kill everyone. Okay, great. You know. Scot Maupin: Well, they were asking the AIs. They're like, How is this, you know, is this likelihood? Is this is he on point? And the AIs are like, Yeah, that seems about right. That seems all of them are agreeing. They're Yeah, that seems that seems about right. Like and people are going, Yeah, and Adam Braus: I think that's silly. Scot Maupin: then well what I was gonna say is the fallacy argument is where it feels like the people get pushed on it and the heads of these AI companies are kinda like agreeing. They're like, Yeah, that might be right, that might be accurate. but the if we don't do it then China's gonna do it and China's gonna kill the China's gonna create the robots and then and then we're gonna be behind. So we have to create the thing that might destroy humanity because if we don't someone else might and then they would control it. And it's like, no, that's not you're you're racing toward doomsday. That's not that that to me is a begs the question where they're like, we have to create the thing that ends the world before they create it because we don't want them to create it first. And you're like, but that's what they're doing. This begs the question. Adam Braus: Right. It's like why do we have to why do we have to get the thing that's gonna end the world? Because if we don't, they will. It's like, well, you're saying it's gonna end the world. So I mean, who cares who gets it first? It's the end of the world. Everyone should be stopping people from getting that thing. Right. Scot Maupin: Mm-hmm. It should be about everybody don't get toward it. Uh-huh. Adam Braus: This camera's fucked up. let me Scot Maupin: Sorry. Well that's okay, P I'll just I'll f focus my camera and people can see my beautiful face instead. This will be s spotlight. Adam Braus: I can also swap it Scot Maupin: What I drew like a crude picture of Adam and had an animatic going just like Adam Braus: I think it's dying because the temperature is getting too hot. Let me check. Scot Maupin: Yeah, it tell it says temperature on it. It gives me a temperature warning. But this is good. We needed a shorter episode anyway, to not hit bandwidth. Adam Braus: But we didn't finish. Scot Maupin: we're not done yet. 'Cause I have questions for you. Adam Braus: Okay, good. Scot Maupin: I have questions that you're gonna beg for. You're gonna beg for these questions, buddy. You have no clue. Adam Braus: I'm begging for those questions. Okay, so that should make it come back on Oooo that is so fun. I think this is good. I think this this is back on, back ready to fly here. Scot Maupin: You're back. Nice. Adam Braus: so you're saying that this whole discourse invites a question. Scot Maupin: well I was gonna I was gonna switch at one point to the the golden the golden finger. Adam Braus: Ho Really? Hmm. Scot Maupin: The golden finger comes out. Adam Braus: Yes Yes, what question do you have, Scot Maupin: Yeah. Adam Braus: Scot? Scot Maupin: I was going to say, do we how do we practically insert this into, you know, pop culture? How do we put this? Adam Braus: Insert this in. Scot Maupin: Here come the TikTok views, actually. Do this. More more fingers into more places. That's the that's the title of the short right now. Fingers in Strange fingers in strange holes. The title of the short. There we go. Adam Braus: Dur du du This begs the question That's right That's right Scot Maupin: Bring on the virality. Adam Braus: I got this in China and I was like, this is so awesome. This is so perfect. Boop. Scot Maupin: my question is practical based is how do we get this like on ramped into pop culture? How do we get people starting to like do we put out a PSA or do we put out do we get influencers, do we pay them to start saying Adam Braus: yeah. Scot Maupin: begs the question the right way? It or do we get rap like if it's a thing where you can drop the mic, do we get like rap songs to start Adam Braus: yeah. Scot Maupin: using bag we rap? Begs to the question could be a hook on a rap song. Pretty easy, I'm pretty sure. Adam Braus: Yeah. I wonder if we could get some baker influencers and have a bake off and call it Bakes the Question. Scot Maupin: Now that is this is like an is it cake level Netflix show. I like this. Bakes the question. And then we can kind of have it be like an is it cake versus great British bake-off combo, you know, try and get the best of both. Adam Braus: Yes. Maybe Paul Hollywood would come and be the the MC for Bakes the Question. I'm gonna ask you a pointed question, sir. Scot Maupin: Now see I have something like that in my desk too, but it's it is for it is for the Adam Braus: dueling Back scratching? Scot Maupin: purpose of s yes, scratching my itchy back when I can't get there with my big dumb arms. Well, okay, fine. Now we're just showing All right, I b I I regret getting into this duel. I regret getting into this duel immediately. Adam Braus: I have that too, but it's it's this. So I have but then I can poke I can poke into my nose while you do it. I have back scratcher and golden finger. I guess for people listening on the podcast, I should point out that I have a golden finger pointer that I'm gesticulating with as a goof. Yeah. All you have to go look at Scot Maupin: There are visual bits happening right now, yes. There Adam Braus: the s solutions of the multiverse YouTube to see it in video. Everyone can do that now. Scot Maupin: We're c working on getting it more places, yeah. Adam Braus: But I think that's a good question. How do we get people? Well, one way one way is I think people should be taught logic in school again. Like I don't know why people graduate school without learning logic. logic is not complicated. And the main thing you learn about are logical fallacies, which are very worthwhile knowing because it prevents people from ch cheating you, you know, lying to you and and having you go along with things that aren't true. because you don't know the logical fallacies. Cause logical fallacies, it feels like they're right, but they're wrong. It's kind of like cognitive biases but two thousand years old, right? I mean, we've known about logical fallacies for two thousand years, but we've only learned about cognitive biases for like twenty twenty years. So you should really learn both 'cause they're both ways that you kind of get tricked into believing things that aren't true. Scot Maupin: Well, and if you can put in an hour on learning about logical fallacies or argument type that, you'll probably save yourself four or five hours on the back end of d engaging in those dumb arguments on Facebook or other places where you can get away you go, wait, I see what's happening. I'll just go ahead and sidestep and save myself three hours of my life here or you know, that my gosh. Adam Braus: Or years of your life in MAGA or years of your life as a as an anti-vaxxer or years or your child's life as an anti-vaxxer or years of your life as a flat earther or yeah, you'll save a tremendous amount of heartache and if you just learn a few logical fallacies. The key one I think being begs the question. I think begs the question is peak logical fallacy that needs to be, yeah, let's bring it back. We're bringing sexy back and we're bringing begs the question back. Those are the two things that we're bringing back. Scot Maupin: Justin Timberlake was in charge of sexy. We are in charge of bag sequestion. That's Adam Braus: Yeah. Yeah, bakes the question, the bake off. Scot Maupin: I now that I think about that deal that we made with him, we should have taken sexy. We should have given him the bag sequestion and we should have been in charge of bringing sexy back. That would have been way better for y for our like our images. Adam Braus: In what world can we do bring bag bring sexy back and Justin Timberlake bring begs the question back? In what universe? Scot Maupin: I guess I just so sorry that I'm just want us to be selling out stadiums and arenas and having people chanting our like screaming our name instead of him. I want him to be making a podcast where he has to try try and figure out how to like change his camera every time. Adam Braus: That's true. What one thing that could bring back one thing that could bring back begs the question is like all the technically correct people. So there's two kinds of correctness. There's political correctness and technical correctness. I don't know which is worse. They're both awful, but technical correct people, you know, they always say actually. Well, actually, you know, and then they, it's actually, Scot Maupin: Okay. Adam Braus: right. If all those technically correct people could just for like one day be have their like Actually, thing be like, well, actually, it's it's it's actually it's invites the question. Begs the question is the logical valacy of circular reasoning. If they could, if they all just in one day said that, that maybe we could have a begs the question holiday. Like international begs the question day. I I think that would be worthwhile. That'd be a good one. You'd celebrate by just it'd be like effigies. You'd Scot Maupin: Then how would you celebrate on this day? You would looking for someone Adam Braus: burn effigies of begs the question positions. Begs question arguments, you know? So you could burn flat earther like effigies and you know MAGA effigies and white supremacy. White supremacy is a fantastic begs the question example, right? White white supremacy says, the white race, which I don't even know what that means because there's like white people from like 50 different countries, you know, there's northern Japanese people who are white. It's like why white people. But, anyways, you know, they mean like, you know, white supremacists. You ask them why are the white race The supreme race, and they say all these things that are like, they work hard or something, or I don't know, they have Christian values. Then you say, so you mean that they that those things are superior? Yes, those things are superior. so you're saying that they're superior because they're superior. Great. That's a circular reasoning. It's not it's Scot Maupin: Yeah. Adam Braus: not an actual reason. That's silly. The idea that white because er and every race could say that. Every race could be like, Well, we have values and we consider our values superior. So therefore We're superior. It's like, no, that you'd have to argue, you'd have to actually be an argument for why those particular values are actually superior than other values. And that just isn't forthcoming. There's no way to say that your values are just like superior because there are other values and they have everything has shorts, you know, there's weaknesses and strengths to all different values, you know. Unless your values like kick all dogs down the stairs, that's clearly worse. But if your values like, Well, we value being righteous, like and other people value being kind. It's like, well, being kind is important, but also being righteous is important. So like what how could you argue that one's better than the other unless you just state it as a fact? Those values are superior. Well, then you're just doing a circular argument. So yeah, all these stupid things. I should do some left wing ones too. There are stupid left wing ones too. Okay. Scot Maupin: Let's bring bring up. Bring it let's see. Adam Braus: I think one of the things that left wing people get wrong is especially nimbies who are like left wing nimbies. they're like the rent is high. That's just saying supply and demand. That's just saying the rent is high because the rent is high. They're not saying the actual causes, which is like we refuse to build housing, or the wealthy are allowed to build, you know. Yeah, exactly. They don't say, Scot Maupin: This city is crowded. Why? 'Cause th there are too many people here. You're like Adam Braus: no, it's because the wealthy are allowed to own 15 homes or 25 homes, or because we don't build enough homes, or because, you know, houses are a commodity that, you know, people use to invest instead of just places where people live. And those would be actual arguments or explanations for why the things are too high. Instead they just say well, you know, high demand. Well that's just saying that's why prices are high is because of high demand. That's just circular reasoning. So that's a that's an interesting one that can be like a left wing one. Adam Braus p2: I could say a controversial kind of left wing one. I don't wanna I Scot Maupin p2: Bring it on. Okay. Adam Braus p2: I don't want people to get mad. I'm I'm like incredibly like pro peop you may get mad. Me we can leave this out if it if it's too controversial. Scot Maupin p2: Am I gonna get mad? Do I need to I need a little squeezy toy right now, right now so I don't Alright, I'm ready. Adam Braus p2: so I'm of the opinion of Thai people. Well basically let's say this I'm incredibly like so I'm totally supportive of like Scot Maupin p2: Die people, no way. my gosh. Adam Braus p2: all LGBTQ like trans people. I like totally I was hanging out with trans person yesterday. Like trans people are awesome. I totally Scot Maupin p2: Okay. Adam Braus p2: want them to be like safe and having fun and doing their lives and loving people however they want and being whatever gender they want. I Scot Maupin p2: Yeah yeah. Adam Braus p2: But I do think that one place where the left gets kind of stumbles in its in its position is they're like trans women are women. And it's more like trans women are trans women. You know what I mean? Like I think it's safer, it's better to sort of be like trans women are trans women. That's an easier argument, you know, to make, because it's it's more accurate, really. A trans woman's a little different from a maybe a fully biological woman. and I think that. Scot Maupin p2: So where's the begs the question coming? Adam Braus p2: Well it begs the question because they're saying trans woman's a woman and you Well, why is a trans woman a woman? and they say because they're a woman, you know? It's like why why Scot Maupin p2: And if you yeah. Adam Braus p2: is a trans woman a woman? Because of gender because gender is a is a social Scot Maupin p2: You can't ask that question without it being a hateful question or whatever. Adam Braus p2: Yeah. know, the Thai people say that there's really just six genders. And I think that's a little better to me that's a more defensible way to run society and think about society and think about gender than trying to say there are two genders or three, you know, inters intersex male and female or man and woman, and then trans women are women and trans men are men. The Thai people just say there are Men, women, trans men, trans women, and then they have gay men and gay women. Like that that's their you know, six genders. Anyways, I think that's I think that's a little bit Scot Maupin p2: It could this be a function of our bi like our bipartisan everything system? Like we're like we don't allow third party si we don't allow small political parties. We're like you have to cram yourself into one of these two and identify as Adam Braus p2: Into one or the other, yeah. Scot Maupin p2: one of these somehow. Like we're not gonna allow you to have we're gonna cram you into one of the two genders. Like cause I can't imagine the people who are mad about the trans women issue at all, I don't think that they're gonna be made necessarily more happy by the idea of like, well, just acknowledge six genders or like, wait a second, no, that's actually another thing I don't want to do. But I do see it could fix things, yeah. Adam Braus p2: Yeah, yeah. But I guess I yeah, I'm not trying to convince I'm not trying to convince anyone of that. I'm just saying like it's a circular reasoning to just say trans women are women because gender is a spectr or gender is a social construct and it's whatever you identify as and then they identify as that. Well, that's just circular reasoning, I think. And the right wing kind of hits on that and they kind of poke on that and they get some mileage there because it is circular reasoning. And and so it's a bit of a I I think the underlying intention is good, right? The underlying intention is like greater equality, protections for a vulnerable population, you know, greater freedom for everyone, including anyone to express any gender identity they want, which is all great. But the argument is still not done great. It's like a bit of a circular argument. now, if you get into like real gender theory and you're actually then it won't be. They have all kinds of arguments that are very sophisticated and very, you know, right. But if you're just like at the meme level or at the sort of Tweet level, it comes it it sort of it ends up, I think, being a bit circular. Anyways, I'm trying to come up with some left-wing ones, but there are fewer in the left wing because the the left does embrace more sort of science and reason more than the right wing does these days. In the past, that wasn't always the case, but in the present that seems to be the case. but even things that are have good intentions and maybe good outcomes can be defended circularly, and then it makes them weaker. Like the belief of human rights. If you're like All people have human rights. And then you say, like, why? Why do they have human rights? I mean, I believe they have human rights, but why? And then your answer is like, because it's just it's just the way you're born with rights. It's like that's just that's just circular reasoning. There isn't really an explanation there. there is an explanation, which was created in the Enlightenment by political philosophers who invented the idea of human rights, which was that if you leave a human alone, if you don't burden them, if you don't chain them up, what behaviors will they engage in? That's what rights are. That's all rights are. Rights are just what you would do if you were, yeah, sports betting. Scot Maupin p2: Sports betting, right? If you Adam Braus p2: If you were unhindered by, you know, someone hindering you, what would you do? Well, a human being, if you just had them in the wilderness, would collect property. They'd have a butt flap and their stick and they'd have their place where they slept, you know? Scot Maupin p2: Wait wait did you say butt flap? Wait wait you just threw that Adam Braus p2: Yeah, their butt flap, like a little butt flap to protect your genitals and your butt, you know, you know, they they'd they'd accrue they'd accrue property. Scot Maupin p2: I'm imagining some sort of flap in my current pants to sort of let you know, to some sort of an air conditioning flap. But you're saying the other way okay, okay. Adam Braus p2: That's right. Air conditioning is a human right. That's what I was trying to say. I just mean Scot Maupin p2: Would it be pretty high up on my list? Adam Braus p2: I just mean private property, right? People, human beings left on their own to their own devices will accrue property. They'll get clothes and, you know, a place that they sleep and yeah, they'll Scot Maupin p2: We're hoarders. Yeah. Adam Braus p2: have food. They'll be like, that's my food. You know, that's what a human being will do. And therefore, there is a right to property. There's right anything you do naturally, if you're unhindered, is a right. So that's like an actual non-circular explanation and def of why there are human rights. But most people don't know that or think that. They just say human rights why? Because everyone deserves human rights. They're essential. They're s you know, that's circular reasoning. And that's and that doesn't mean they're that doesn't mean they're wrong, because I I think they are still right, but it just means they don't actually know the best arguments for why they're right. in the case of like vaccines and and stupid things, that's actually just wrong. There aren't better arguments in favor of those. So anyways if we bring back begs the question we'll solve all the problems of all these weird alternative facts, stupidities. So let's learn logic in schools and let's Scot Maupin p2: So Yeah. Adam Braus p2: and let's bring back begs the question maybe by having a bake off called bakes the question Scot Maupin p2: Well, I was gonna say here's the call to action we can tell listeners if if you get into a situation where you can deploy this, where you can use begs the question, you it do it, hold yourself, don't like follow it up with anything, just be like this begs the question. And if you're you know, if you hear someone else doing this, you can support them by you know just following it up, be Yeah, it begs the question. You know, as soon as someone goes, Hey, that begs Adam Braus p2: That's right. That's right. Just pure support. Scot Maupin p2: the question, you you're the backup hype guy going like begs the question, yeah, begs the question, bro. Adam Braus p2: Yeah. That does beg the question, bro. Bro, that begs the question. That's right. He's right. It does beg the question. Silence. Because it's not about a question that you're gonna ask. That would be Scot Maupin p2: He's right. They're right. Does beg the question. You got your question got begged. your question's begged. You got you begged to the question. Adam Braus p2: And then people are like, What question does it beg? Make them ask that. Then you can be like, I mean you're engaging in circular reasoning. Your position is using its conclusion as until you turn it in Donald Trump. You're using your conclusion as a premise of your argument. He's too dumb to to talk like that, but Yeah. Scot Maupin p2: Yeah, Okay, so we have we have instructions, we have a way to operate with this, and we could change the world with it. So we can ba it we could Adam Braus p2: Yeah. Bakes the question. Scot Maupin p2: make a better world out of the remains of this old one. But out of the ashes, right, of Phoenix rising. Adam Braus p2: Crap thing that we have now. Yeah. Right. And I and it's not just I think I think everyone can think about this too. Like, you know, you don't just have to be like, opinions that are wrong often have begs the question. They're often the the arguments in their favor are begs the question. I think even if you have true opinions, like that everyone should have human rights or that trans people should be treated with total, you know, equality and or whatever you believe, you know, love is love. That itself like just that phrase, love is love, which it has a great intention and I think is true. It's a circular reasoning. And I think people should just be careful that even if you have the right opinion, you should not defend it with circular reasoning because people can kind of smell that that fallacy. It's better to defend it with actual reasoning, actual explanations that are non circular. yeah. Scot Maupin p2: Circular reasoning feels very like schlocky and like i you know, like s slimy salesman type thing where it's someone's just trying to get past your conversation point to whatever they're trying to get. And you're just like, Hey man, nope, come back to where I was. That's what don't just jump over my issue. Adam Braus p2: Bible's true because it's the word of God and the word of God is true. Right? Like that's just that's like what? Like that's just that begs the question. So yeah. So this is this is my solution for today. Hopefully it's an unheard of solution for most people that they haven't really thought about begs the question. I think the really unheard of thing about it is to really recognize that so many of the pernicious false opinions in our society are backed up by begs the question fallacies. And so if we could identify that, we could like take away a lot of the power from those fallacious ideas and opinions. Scot Maupin p2: pop some of the yeah, Adam Braus p2: All right, Scot. Thank you so much. Thank you everyone for listening to this rant tirade about the solution. Begs the question. Yeah. And yeah. Scot Maupin p2: And start using bags of question in your own lives. It's it's there to go. Adam Braus p2: And all the s all the stuff. So please subscribe. Share. Scot Maupin p2: All the stuff. Subscribe w which by which you mean we are showing up on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and different places, Adam Braus p2: We're everywhere now. Scot Maupin p2: YouTube. So y you should be able to find us maybe not be able to escape us in many places now. Adam Braus p2: Yes, we are becoming a channel. We're gonna be bigger than CNN. Scot Maupin p2: But one way or the other, either they go down or we go up. But eventually, if we do this long enough, we got that. All right. See you next time. Adam Braus p2: Right. All right, everyone. Thank you so much. See you again next time.